While I was in Cairo, I decided to skip shaving my head.

It takes about 10 minutes of rubbing my electric razor around my scalp before I can truly claim that it’s as “smooth as a baby’s bottom” (which is how I like it).

Anyway, I thought I’d skip it while in Cairo and then go to a barber on the last day and get myself cleaned up.

Being Left in the Dark

Thankfully, I spent the last day in a big, Western hotel, so the barber spoke something that resembled English and was able to understand my request to have my head and face shaved.

I have to say that, being a victim of the American media, there’s something kinda scary about sticking your American throat out for a Middle Eastern guy with a razor.

Anyway, he did the job, and my head and face were really smooth.

The barber did lots of things during the process. There was water, shaving cream, hot towels, and various ointments involved. It was quite a production, and I had no idea what was coming next.

I didn’t like being ignorant about the process.

Of course, I had to excuse the lack of information about the process since it was clear that even the discussion about the shaving had fully taxed the language skills of everyone involved. I don’t blame the guy for not giving me a blow-by-blow as he did the work.

Same Story, Different Day

Fast forward a week, and I’m back in Raleigh. Today, I decided to repeat the routine at a local barbershop. I haven’t shaved my head since I had it done in Cairo.

I headed into a shop about three blocks from my house and explained that I wanted my head and face shaved. One of the barbers said he was available and he went to work.

Here we go.

He puts me in the chair, puts my head back, and gets going.

He speaks perfectly good English, and we chatted about his recent move to the area as he started whipping out his supplies.

He, like the Egyptian guy, went through a multistep process of treating my head and face before and after doing the actual shaving. Once again, there were towels, water, shaving cream, and other substances involved.

This guy could have explained what was coming and what to expect throughout the process, but he didn’t.

I had no idea what he was doing and why. He kept moving me around and doing his thing, but he never offered any explanation of the process.

Why didn’t he explain?

I didn’t ask, but I bet he would offer a number of reasons for leaving me in the dark.

• He probably figured I’d ask if I needed to know.
• Maybe he figured it didn’t make any difference because he was going to do what needed doing and I didn’t need to know.
• Maybe he thought I already knew?
• Maybe he knows he’s the expert and there’s no reason for me to know what was coming next.

I’m not sure why I got no explanation, but I can tell you the result of my experience in the face-shaving dark. Next time—and there will be a next time in seven days—I’m going somewhere else.

I want a barber who communicates about what’s happening. I want even more communication when things involve jerking my neck around and burying my face in very hot towels. Pardon me, but I may not “need to know” in the barber’s mind, but I can tell you that I NEED TO KNOW!

Ignorance Is NOT Bliss

Thankfully, the head/face shaving process is over fairly quickly. That can’t be said for the divorce process, which can take months or, in some cases, years.

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• How often do our clients feel the same way about us that I felt about the barber?
• How often do they feel uninformed and left in the dark?
• How often do they feel like they have no idea what’s coming next and why you’re doing what you’re doing?
• How often do we make something scary even scarier?